


THE SHINING!

by CarrieWrites



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-04-23 21:10:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14340984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarrieWrites/pseuds/CarrieWrites
Summary: A girl was walking through the woods, wincing as she stepped on twigs and rocks, pinching her bare feet.She turned her buzzcut head, looking back to see if she was being followed.She swallowed, continuing to walk forward.The girl had been walking through the woods, looking around, dirt covering her entire body.Her hand itched for the feeling of another hand, one that would hold onto hers protectively.She called out for that person."Sister!"XAnother girl, running through the woods, was looking around, panting unevenly.Her long, wavy brown hair that was tumbling down to her knees covered in dirt and leaves, wiping the dirt and sweat from her face.She called out for someone."¡Hermana!"(Previously known as: Sisters Not By Blood, But By Choice)





	1. Chapter 1

A girl was walking through the woods, wincing as she stepped on twigs and rocks, pinching her bare feet.

She turned her buzzcut head, looking back to see if she was being followed.

She swallowed, continuing to walk forward.

The girl had been walking through the woods, looking around, dirt covering her entire body.

Her hand itched for the feeling of another hand, one that would hold onto hers protectively.

She called out for that person.

"Sister!"

X

Another girl, running through the woods, was looking around, panting unevenly.

Her long, wavy brown hair that was tumbling down to her knees covered in dirt and leaves, wiping the dirt and sweat from her face.

She called out for someone.

"¡Hermana!"

She trembled, as every step she took, dandelions and daisies sprouted.

She was nervous and scared as she clutched the teddy bear she carried close to her.

Not just for her but also for 'hermana'.

She needed to find her.

X

The girl with the buzzcut head found a building, walking towards it, as faint music and talking is heard from outside.

As she grew closer to it, she smelled what she believed to be food.

She walked around the building, finding a door to the back.

She walked in, wincing at the floor which was cold, looking around.

She walked into a room, her eyes landing on the food on the table.

She swallowed as she took a French fry (though she didn't know it was called that), eating it.

She found herself eating the rest of the food that was on the plate.

"Hey!"

Her head shot up, freezing like a deer in front of headlights.

She'd been sighted.

She grabbed the plate, running out.

"Come here!"

However, just as she was about to leave, a man grabbed her, causing her to drop the food.

She breathed in quickly, looking terrified as the man turned her to look at him.

"You think you can steal from me, boy?!"

It took a moment for the man to realize that the kid wasn't a boy, but was a girl.

A terrified,  _hungry_ girl.

"What in the hell?"

X

While the girl that was in the building was sitting down, waiting for food to be given to her, the other was hiding under a log, now covered in leaves, surrounded by flowers that didn't typically grew in the time of month they were currently in.

She looked at the ground, tilting her head up, narrowing her eyes, her two front teeth being slightly revealed as she gritted her teeth.

A strawberry bush pops up, growing until the strawberries were red and ripe.

She sighs, picking at them, wiping her nose as a drop of blood ran down her nose.

She had figured out her new power a week ago and other than 'hermana', no one else knew about it.

And she rather keeps it that way if it was possible.

X

The girl in the building was now eating a hamburger, the man sitting across from her watching her.

"Geez, did your parents forget to feed you?"

The girl didn't answer, she just continued to eat.

"Is that why you ran away?"

The girl kept eating the hamburger, wanting to ease her hunger.

"They, uh...they hurt you?"

The girl didn't answer him.

"You went to the hospital, you got scared, you ran off, you wound up here, is that it?"

The girl looked up at him.

"Alright."

He takes the half-eaten hamburger and pushed the plate towards him.

"I'll give this back, all right? And you can have as much as you want. All right? Maybe even some ice cream. But you gotta answer a few of my questions first, all right?"

The girl looked at him, debating on answering.

"We got a deal?"

She breathes in shakily.

"All right, let's start with the easy stuff. All right?"

He holds out his hand.

"My name's Benny. Benny Hammond."

He takes her hand.

"See? Like this. Here."

She flinches.

"I got you. Don't worry. It's okay."

He shakes her hand.

"Nice to meet you, yeah. And you are?"

Her eyes darted to her wrist, uneasy to answer.

Benny sighed, looking towards her wrist, seeing  _011_ tattooed on it.

She draws her hand back, looking at him.

No one except 'Sister' was allowed to hold that hand.

Benny sighed, looking at her.

"Eleven? What's that mean?"

She looked at him.

"What's it mean?"

"No," she says, not wanting to answer.

"Well, I'll be damned. She speaks."

The girl swallows her saliva, looking at him.

"'No'? No, what?"

She remained silent.

"All right. I guess no more food, then," he says, causing the girl to freeze.

"Eleven." She blurted.

"Yeah. What's it mean?"

Her lips trembled before pointing at herself.

"Eleven."

_Once._

Benny nodded.

"All right, then."

He pushes the plate of food back to her, causing her to grab onto it and continue eating.

"Here you go. Take it easy, take it easy."

X

Eleven was still eating as Benny made a call, reminding herself to try to ask him to make more for 'Sister', knowing she'll find her eventually.

She looked to see up to see a fan rattling, getting a bit annoyed by the obnoxious noise.

She glared at it, focusing on it.

The fan stops, causing her to wipe her hands, wiping her nose as a drop of blood ran down.

It was a power that both her and 'Sister' shared.

Though, while the new discovery of 'Sister's' new powers left them puzzled as to why Eleven didn't have them, they both shared it as their own secret.

X

The other girl decided to keep on moving, not wanting to stay in one place.

She blew a strand of her hair off her face, growing annoyed when it landed back on her freckled face.

She ran her hand through her hair, her forehead bangs falling back on her eyes, parting them so she can see.

As she lowered her left arm, the numbers  _012_ are shown tattooed on her wrist.

She called again out in the forest.

"¡Once! ¡Hermana!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sisters reunite, at the expense of Benny. They escape before the people that are looking for them could catch them, ending up running into three boys in the woods.

Eleven was following Benny to the kitchen when they heard a door open from the back.

Eleven looked out and grinned at the brunette looking around in awe.

"Sister!"

The girl turned, grinning widely.

"¡Hermana!"

Benny looked taken aback when the new girl ran up to Eleven, hugging her and looking her over.

"H-Hurt?"

Eleven shook her head.

"Benny fed me."

She pointed at the man, the girl with freckles flinching, hiding behind Eleven.

"Safe," Eleven whispered, smiling gently at the slightly taller girl.

The freckled girl relaxed, nodding at the man, hugging her teddy bear.

"Well then, what's your name?"

The girl hesitated.

"T-T-T-T-T..."

She gave up, lifting up her left wrist, revealing her  _012_ tattoo.

"Soy Doce."

"Twelve." Eleven smiled.

X

Twelve was eating her food almost as fast as Eleven did, practically inhaling it.

Eleven was holding onto her left hand, her thumb tracing over her scars on her arms.

Benny had given her a shirt in replacement of the hospital gown she had previously worn.

He had noticed the scars that painted on her arms and the one that was on her jawline.

However, he wasn't given an answer when he asked about them, just a really scared look on her face.

Eleven sighed as she ran her thumb through her sister's scars, shuddering at the memory that Twelve had put some of the scars on her body herself.

It was a sight that she'd never forget.

Twelve smiled at her and Eleven smiled back, brushing her hair.

The irony being that Twelve was older than Eleven when it was Eleven who took care of Twelve...mentally that is.

X

Eleven and Twelve were eating ice cream, both sharing the tub.

"You two like that ice cream, huh?"

The girls look up at Benny, smiling at him.

"Smile looks good on you. Both of you."

Eleven furrowed her eyebrows while Twelve flinched, immediately dropping it.

"You know, smile?"

Benny grinned.

Twelve, realizing that it was okay, that she was allowed to smile among this man, grinned hugely, her smile reaching her eyes.

Eleven noticed and smiled at Benny, thankful for him to allow them to feel some sort of happiness.

They grinned at each other, Twelve giggling as she poked Eleven's dimples, Eleven kissing Twelve's cheek before they went back to the ice cream.

They heard knocking on the door, causing them to look back, the grins fading.

They turned to Benny, Twelve whimpering as she hugged Eleven's arm.

"All right. You two just sit tight. Whoever it is, I'll tell  'em to go away real quick, all right?"

Eleven looked worried as he walked towards the door, forgetting about the ice cream.

Twelve hugged her teddy bear tightly, rocking back and forth.

Eleven watched as Benny talked to a woman.

She didn't recognize her, but Twelve did.

"Once, vamos." She whimpered, getting down from the counter gently, reaching for Eleven, holding onto her teddy bear with the other.

Eleven looked at her, grabbing her hand when they heard a silent gunshot.

They turned and gasped when they saw Benny fall, the woman holding a gun.

"¡¡VAMOS!!" Twelve screamed, dragging Eleven from the counter, shattering a plate in the process.

They held tightly onto each other's hands as they ran to the back door when two men came with guns, blocking them.

Three adults came into the restaurant, one was an elderly man and two were a young couple in their 30s, when they heard radio static and men groaning.

The three adults walked to see the two men on the floor dead, with the door wide open.

The girls had escaped.

X

Twelve was whimpering as Eleven dragged her through the forest, tears running down as she held onto her teddy bear tightly.

"¡Once...Once!"

Eleven turned to see her, widening her eyes at Twelve's sobbing face mixed with the rain that was pouring down.

"Twelve?"

"T-T-They w-w-w-were t-t-t-"

"WILL!"

They both flinched, looking up.

Eleven grabbed onto Twelve's hand, following the voices.

Twelve whimpered, more flowers sprouting at each step.

"I've got your  _X-Men 134_!"

X-Men 134?

What was that?

The voices continued to yell.

Twelve flinched at every noise they made, Eleven shivering madly.

They saw three figures up ahead, making more noise.

The figures gasped, and suddenly light was flashed onto them.

They were three boys.

Eleven and Twelve froze, shivering and breathing heavily

The boy in the middle looked between the two sisters, but his eyes lingered on the one with the shaved head, something about her drawing him in.

Eleven stared at him also, gripping onto her sister's hand tightly.

The boy with the curly hair and the hat, however, was staring at the freckled girl, her long hair sticking to her face, her blue eyes drawing him in.        

She stared at him too, something about him made her calm down slightly at just the sight of him looking at her with curiosity in his own pair of blue eyes.

The two boys stared at the two sisters, as the two sisters started at the two boys.

Even though they had just met, know NOTHING about the strangers in front of them, they felt as if they needed to protect each other.

Twelve glanced towards Eleven, who nodded at her.

She looked at the boy in the middle, begging with her blue eyes, and opened her mouth.

"Ayúdenos, por favor. (Help us, please.)"


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eleven and Twelve are brought back to a boy's house, a boy they'll soon later goes by the name 'Mike'. He gives them fresh clothes and nicknames.

Twelve and Eleven were in a house, jackets on them from two of the boys.

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?"

They looked up to the boy in the middle, his eyes darting between the two sisters.

"Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?" The boy on his left asks Eleven, who squeezes Twelve's hand.

"Did you two run away?" The other boy asked.

"Are you both in some kind of trouble?" The boy in the middle asks.

"Is that blood?"

The boy in his right reached out to touch the red stain on Twelve's shirt, causing her yelp, hiding into Eleven's arm.

The boy in the middle hit his arm back.

"Stop it! You're freaking her out!"

"She's freaking me out!"

"I bet they're deaf."

The boy on the left claps loudly, causing the girls to flinch, Twelve peeking at him.

"Not deaf."

"All right, that's enough, all right? They're just scared and cold." The boy says, leaving to get some clothes.

When thunder rumbled loudly, Twelve gasped, tears running down, trembling.

Eleven looked at her and wiped her face, hugging her sister.

"Hermana..." Twelve whimpered.

"Hey, Dustin! Can she use these?"

Twelve looked up to see the boy holding a white shirt and red sweatpants.

"Uh, the one with the hair?" The boy with the hat asked.

Twelve furrowed her eyebrows.

That boy's name was Dustin?

The boy holding the clothes nodded.

"Uh, yeah, sure."

Dustin.

Pretty name.

"Here, these are clean. Okay?" The boy says, handing them the clothes, Eleven getting a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

They take the clothes, looking at them as a soft scent of laundry detergent emitted from them.

Eleven rubbed the clothing on her face as Twelve felt the shirt with her fingers.

They were soft.

Were clothes supposed to be this soft?

El puts her clothes aside, taking off the jacket the boy gave her and reached to pull off the shirt.

"No, no, no!" he exclaimed, keeping the shirt down as the other boy and Dustin looked away.

Twelve immediately got to her sister's side, glaring at the boy warningly.

"Oh my god. Oh my god." Dustin exclaimed.

"See over there? Th-That's the bathroom. Privacy. Get it?" he says, looking Eleven.

Eleven looked at Twelve who shrugged, grabbing her clothes.

Eleven grabbed the clothes the boy gave her and grabbed Twelve's hand as they walked to the bathroom, the boy following them from behind.

Once they entered the bathroom, the boy was closing the door when Twelve turned around and stopped him.

The boy seemed shocked as he actually took in her face for the first time, his attention mainly being her sister.

He noticed the scar on her jaw and frowned, before meeting her blue eyes.

"You don't want it closed?" He asked, causing Eleven to turn to see their conversation.

"No, por favor."

"No," El says, walking up to her, looking at the boy.

"Oh, so you can speak." The boy says, looking at Eleven.

Okay, well..." he trailed off, looking at Twelve, seeming to note she had more vocabulary than the other girl, even if it was in another language.

"How about we just keep the door..." he says, closing the door until there was reasonable amount still open, Twelve dropping her hand to grab Eleven's.

"Just like this," he says, causing Twelve to give an approving smile.

"That better?" he asked, looking at the sisters.

"Yes."

"Si, gracias."

He nods, smiling at them.

He leaves, Eleven watching him.

"S-S-Safe." Twelve approved, turning to Eleven.

She nodded.

"Yes. Safe."

They smile at each other before helping each other remove the shirts they wore.

Twelve put on the white shirt and the red sweatpants that seemed a bit baggy, but still fit.

Eleven had just put on the sweatpants when Twelve turned to the mirror above the sink.

She lets out her palm out, water appearing as she runs it down her hair, removing the dirt and leaves in it.

She wiped her bloody nose when she was done, Eleven reaching out to braid her hair as Twelve put the water in the sink, watching as it slowly disappears.

"This is mental."

Twelve looked up when she heard Dustin's voice from outside the room.

"At least they can talk. Especially the one with hair." the boy who gave them clothes defended them.

"She said 'no' and 'yes'. Your three-year-old sister says more. And also, the girl with the hair speaks Spanish!" The other boy argued.

"Then you should have been paying attention in Spanish class to be able to understand her!" The safe boy argued.

"She tried to get naked...the buzzcut one," Dustin says.

"There's something seriously wrong with that one. Like wrong in the head." The other boy says.

Twelve narrowed her eyes.

"She just went like..." Dustin says, motioning with his hands what Eleven was doing, making his hat fall off.

Twelve giggled at the sight.

"I bet they escaped from Pennhurst," the other boy says.

"From where?" the safe boy asked.

"The nuthouse in Kerley County."

"You got a lot of family there?" Dustin asked, making Twelve snort in amusement.

"Bite me." the other boy threatened.

"Seriously though, think about it. That would explain the girl's shaved hair and why they're both so crazy."

"Why she went like..." Dustin says, motioning what Eleven did again.

"They're both escapees is the point. They're both probably psychos."

"Like Michael Myers," Dustin suggested.

"Exactly! We should've never brought them here."

"So you just wanted to leave them out in that storm?" The safe boy asked, looking at the other boy.

"Yes! We went out to find Will, not another problem."

"I think we should tell your mom," Dustin suggested, causing Twelve to freeze.

"I second that."

"Who's crazy now?" The safe boy asks.

"How is that crazy?"

We weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?"

"So?"

"So, if I tell my mom, and she tells your mom and your mom..."

"Oh, man." Dustin groans.

"Our houses become Alcatraz,"

"Exactly! We'll never find Will." The safe boy sighed.

Twelve frowned, looking to Eleven who was watching with her.

"All right, here's the plan. They sleep here tonight." the safe boy says.

"You're letting two girls-"

"Just listen! In the morning, they sneak around my house and go to the front door and rings my doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She'll send them back to Pennhurst or wherever they came from. We'll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night, we go back out. And this time, we find Will." the safe boy says.

X

Dustin helped Mike with pillow fort when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

He turned to see the girl with the hair, looking at him.

"Oh, hi."

Suddenly, he remembered she spoke Spanish.

"Err...I mean...¿hola?"

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping.

"¿Hablas español también?" she asked, grinning.

He shrugged, making a mental note to pay extra attention in Spanish class from now on.

"A little."

She smiled before turning to see the pillow fort.

She got in, looking around.

The other girl joined in afterward, sitting next to her.

"Dustin! Come on!"

He turned to see Lucas, motioning for him to come.

He gets up, but not before the girl grabs his arm.

"D-Dustin?"

His eyes widen at her stutter, her heavy accent being heard clearly.

"T-T-Thanks."

She pointed at his jacket, and he remembered how he gave it to her when they stumbled upon her and her sister (he heard her call the other girl  _hermana_ ).

"Oh, no problem."

She smiles, dimples showing.

Dustin smiles back, causing her to tilt her head as he turned to leave.

X

Twelve furrowed her eyebrows before turning to the safe boy as he handed Eleven something for them to sleep on.

She placed it down, stopping momentarily when he said;

"Hey, um, we never asked your name,"

Twelve looked at Eleven who nodded, her pulling up her sleeve to reveal the  _011_ tattoo while Twelve turned her left arm to reveal that among her many scars was the  _012_ tattoo.

"Is that real?" The boy asks, reaching over to touch Eleven's tattoo.

She flinched away, making him look up at her.

He turned to look at Twelve's arm, seeing the many scars.

She notices and draws her arms back, looking down in humiliation.

"Sorry, I've just...never seen a kid with a tattoo before," he says, smiling sheepishly before asking;

"What's it mean? Eleven? Twelve?"

They point at themselves, catching the boy off guard.

"Those are your names?" he asked.

Eleven nods, grabbing Twelve's hand.

"Eleven. Twelve. Okay. Well, my name's Mike, short for Michael." he says, Twelve tilting her head along with Eleven.

"Maybe we can call you El, short for Eleven, and we can call you Ve, short for Twelve," Mike suggested, looking at the two.

Eleven looks at Twelve, and seeing her huge grin on her face on being referred to as 'Ve', she nodded.

"Um, well, okay. Night, El. Buenas noches, Ve."

Ve smiled at the term.

"Night, Mike," El says.

"Buenas noches, Mike." Ve says, smiling at him.

He covers the blanket, both Ve and El laying down, facing each other as the light turns off.

Ve snuggles into her sister, who hugs her tight, shaking.

She was scared, that much was true.

They both were.

But, they actually felt safe.

And they wanted that feeling to stay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike REALLY earns El's and Ve's trust and shows them around the living room.

Ve woke up to static being heard, looking to see El playing with a device of some sort.

"¿Once?"

El turned and smiled at her.

"Buenas dias, Doce."

Ve sat up, rubbing her eyes, looking around the fort.

"R-R-Real."

Suddenly they heard footsteps, causing Ve to back up, whimpering until the person pulling up the blanket revealed to be Mike.

She relaxed, remembering that he was safe.

"Hola, Mike."

Mike looked at Ve, smiling at her.

"Hey, Ve."

He turned his attention to El, grinning at what she found.

"Hey, you found my supercomm. Pretty cool huh?"

El looks up at Mike before turning back to the Supercomm.

"I talk to my friends with it. Mostly Lucas 'cause he lives so close. Signal's pretty weak."

Ve giggled and El smiled at him.

Mike reached into his pocket and reached for something.

He grabbed a food of some kind (two Eggos)  and handed it to them.

"Got you breakfast." He says, Ve grabbing one and El grabbing the other, biting into it.

"So listen, this is gonna sound a little weird, but I just need you two to go out there. Then go to the front door and ring the doorbell. My mom will answer and you both will tell her that you're both lost and that you two need help. But whatever you do, you both can't tell her about last night or that you know us. Understand?"

Ve froze, her chewing stopped.

"It's actually no big deal, we'll just pretend to meet each other again. And my mom, she'll know who to call." Mike attempts to reassure them.

El looked at him.

"No."

Ve shook her head.

Mike furrowed his eyebrows.

"No?"

"No." Ve says.

"No...you don't want my mom to get help?"

El looks back up at Mike, shaking her head.

Mike noticed how Ve was shaking violently so he turned his attention to her.

"You're both in trouble, aren't you?" he asks her, causing her to meet his eyes.

Ve nodded, rubbing her arms.

"Who...who are you two in trouble with?" Mike asked her.

She showed her arms and whimpered out;

"Bad."

El frowned, looking at Mike.

"Bad? Bad people?" Mike asks.

"Mamá y Papá...and m-m-m-more." Ve says.

El grabbed her hand, squeezing it.

Mike frowned, wondering who on earth would hurt their own kid?

"They want to hurt you again? Your parents and the bad people?"

Ve shook her head, shaking violently so El answered for her.

She formed a hand knife and gently took Ve's arm, dragging it on her skin, before forming a handgun and pointing it at her, then pointing it at herself and finally, at Mike, who had watched in horror.

She lowered her hand, looking at him.

"Understand?"

He just stared at Ve, noticing how heavily she was shaking and he felt this protectiveness he only felt when someone talked bad about his sister Nancy.

He looked up when he heard his mother call for him.

"Michael, where are you? We're going to be late. Let's go!"

"All right, I'll be back. Just stay here, okay? Stay here."

He lowers the blanket and El turned to Ve.

She grabbed onto her arms again, this time placing kisses on the scars on them.

She then kissed the scar on her jaw, causing Ve to sob and hug her.

"Safe. You're safe." El whispered.

X

Mike ran back to the basement door, opening it and closing after walking in.

"Ve? El?"

He walks to the pillow fort and pulls over the blanket, immediately witnessing an intense sibling moment between the two girls.

El had her arms and legs wrapped around Ve, kissing her scars.

Ve noticed Mike and jumped, El looking up and, as quick as her defenses came, they vanished.

Ve swallowed, shaking.

"Safe. Safe." She whispered, clenching and unclenching her hands.

Mike looked at El who just watched her sister with a sad glance.

"Mamá y Papá no están aquí. (Mamá and Papá aren't here.)"

Mike frowned, swallowing before saying;

"Ve, it's okay. Your parents...they aren't here. And...I'm going to make sure they won't take you guys back to wherever you came from."

Ve looked at Mike and nodded.

"T-Thank you, Mike."

She reached out to grab his hand and squeezed it, as if to say 'I trust you'.

He beamed at the allowance of being able to touch her, seeing as she only allowed El to really do that.

El smiled at him, knowing that if her sister trusted him, then she could.

...Not that she didn't already.

Seeing as other than Dustin, Mike treated Ve with kindness and respect.

"So...would you two like a tour?" Mike asked, smiling at the two.

X

"You two want anything to drink?" Mike asked the sisters, who looked around the house in awe.

"We have OJ, skim milk....what else?"

Ve looked to see El had walked into another room, tugging at Mike's shirt to catch his attention.

"Um, we have..." he says, looking at Ve when she pointed towards the direction El went to.

Mike turned and smiled as El studied the TV with her eyes.

"Oh, this is my living room," he says, Ve studying it as well, a smile appearing on her lips.

"Un televisión." Ve says, looking at Mike who nods.

"Yeah, it's mainly used to watch TV. Nice right? It's 22-inch."

"That's like ten times bigger than Dustin's."

El walked up to the family pictures, looking at one of Nancy, Ve following behind her.

El smiled at the photo.

"Pretty."

Ve nodded.

"Bonita."

Mike frowned.

"I guess."

"That's my sister Nancy, and that's baby Holly, and those are my parents," Mike says as El and Ve went through each of the pictures.

"What are your parents like?" Mike asked El, not getting an answer from her but Ve said;

"Ella es mi hermana."

Mike blinked.

"Oh, right. I forgot. You two just look different, that's all."

Ve smiled.

"Por opción Mike, no por sangre. (By choice Mike, not by blood.)"

Mike looked up, translating it in his head before it clicked.

"Oh, uh...nevermind."

Ve nodded as she turned to El, who was now interested in the chair.

"That's our La-Z-Boy."

"It's where my dad sleeps. You can try it if you want." Mike says, El and Ve now looking at him.

They both sit on the chair, Mike kneeling down, ready to pull it back.

"Just trust me, okay?" 

El nods, Ve tensing and grabbing her sister's hand for what was about to happen.

Suddenly, the chair pulls back, causing them to gasp.

Mike chuckles while El and Ve laugh nervously.

It didn't feel bad, the rush just felt so...sudden.

"See? Fun, right?" Mike says, grinning at the girls.

Mike sets it back up, Ve watching him carefully.

"Now you try."

El leans and pulls the handle, causing the chair to pull back.

The three laugh, El, and Ve giggling as the chair rocks back and forth, Mike laughing at the two, relieved that they felt happy.

El and Ve look at each other as they giggled, happy that they made a new friend.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Ve reveal their powers when Lucas tries to tell Mrs. Wheeler about them.

Mike slams the Yoda figure on the table, grunting weirdly.

"Ready are you? What knows you of ready?" he mimics, making Ve burst out laughing.

"His name's Yoda. He can use the Force to move things with his mind, like this," Mike says, pushing the toys off the board.

El looked uninterested about the information, unlike Ve who widened her eyes and grinned at her sister, and looked over to see Mike's trophies.

"Oh, this is my dinosaur, Rory. Look he has a speaker in his mouth so he can roar."

The dinosaur roared, making Ve smile, looking to see that El had stood up, walking over to where Mike's trophies were.

They both got up, walking over to El who was looking at all the trophies.

"Oh, these are all my science fair trophies," Mike says, El and Ve smiling at each of them.

"We got first every year."

"Except for last year when we got third. Mr. Clarke said it was totally political." Mike says, rolling his eyes.

El stared at a picture of the boys holding a trophy, all of them smiling.

Mike notices that she's staring at the picture, causing him to glance at it.

She pointed at Will, causing Ve to look at her with wide eyes, grabbing her shoulder.

"You know Will?" Mike asks, looking at El.

"Did you see him? Last night? On the road?" he asked, El not answering.

The three turned when they heard a vehicle approaching, causing Ve to gasp, trembling.

Mike walks up to the window, seeing his mother's car pulling up in the driveway.

"We gotta go," Mike says, grabbing El's hand, who grabs onto Ve's.

El tensed, but relaxed when she felt that the way he was holding onto her and pulling her towards the stairs was protective...

...As did Ve who's shaking stopped.

"I bought pizza and macaroni." Mrs. Wheeler says, opening the door, causing Mike to freeze.

Mike pulls the girls back up the stairs, knowing that they were screwed.

"Ted? Is that you?"

"Just me, Mom!"

"Mike? What're you doing home?"

"One second!" Mike yelled.

He pulls them back into his room, closing the door and then opening the closet door.

"In here. I'll be right back, okay?"

Ve whimpered, hugging El.

"Please, you have to get in, or my mom, she'll find you. Do you understand?"

They hesitated, Ve shaking heavily.

"I won't tell her about you two. I promise." Mike reassures them.

"Promise?" El asked.

"It means something you can't break. Ever." Mike says.

"Michael?"

They all look at the door and back at each other.

"Please?" Mike whispered.

El sighed, deciding to brave her fear just to make sure to stay hidden.

She looks to Ve who swallowed and nodded.

"O-O-Ok."

They walk into the closet, freezing when Mike started to close the door.

El gasps, breathing shakily as it closed, Ve starting to cry.

**_Flashback_ _..._ **

_"PAPA!"_

_Eleven was screaming as she was being carried to the room she hated._

_She looked back to see an elderly man watching her._

_"PAPA! NO!"_

_"PAPA!"_

_She saw another man, carrying a limp body over his shoulder, but Eleven knew who it was._

_Only one person would have bandages all over her arms._

_"NO! NO! NO!"_

_Twelve was crying, her arms burning with pain, looking up._

_"¡MAMÁ! ¡PAPÁ! ¡NO!"_

_They were thrown_ _into_ _the room they both hated, Eleven scrambling up, to pound on the door._

_"PAPA!"_

_"PAPA!!"_

_"PAPA!"_

_"PAPA!"_

_"PAPA!"_

_Eleven let out a sob._

_"Papa..."_

_She turned back to Twelve, feeling guilty that she didn't immediately go to her to check up on her like she usually did after a failed experiment but, this was rare, for both of them to be thrown in the room at the same time._

_She sunk towards Twelve and hugged her, both of them sobbing as she gently rubbed her arms, making sure not to move the bandages._

**_End of Flashback_ _..._ **

El and Ve sunk to the floor, making a thudding noise, both sobbing.

X

Mike ran back to his room, opening and closing the door and locking it.

"Eleven? Twelve? Is everything okay? El? Ve?"

He opened the closet door, see El and Ve sitting and hugging each other, crying.

"Mike..." El whimpered.

"Is everything okay?" Mike asked.

El and Ve gasp, nodding.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

El nods, smiling weakly as Ve wiped her eyes, smiling and nodding.

"Promise." They both whisper.

X

Dustin and Lucas, who rode to Mike's house, walked into the room, and Dustin was closing the door when he noticed the two girls sitting on Mike's bed, a blanket covering their laps, the buzzcut one staring at them while the other was braiding her hair.

Ve looked up when she heard the door close, and she smiled at Dustin, who smiled back, only for it to drop when Lucas elbowed him, glaring at Mike.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"Just listen to me," Mike says.

"You are out of your mind!"

"They know about Will," Mike says.

"What do you mean they know about Will?" Dustin asks him.

Mike walks over to the picture El had pointed and holds it.

"She pointed at him, at his picture," he says, looking at El.

"She knew he was missing. I could tell."

"You could tell?"

"Just think about it. Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found them on Mirkwood, the same place Will disappeared?" Mike asked.

"That is weird," Dustin admitted.

"And they said bad people are after them...including her parents." Mike continued, now looking at Ve.

She looks down, grabbing El's hand.

"I think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took Will," Mike says.

"I think they know what happened to him,"

"Then why don't they tell us?" Lucas asked.

He glared at them, walking towards them, but mostly towards Ve, who starts to shake.

"Do you know where he is?"

Ve gulped.

Lucas grabbed her shoulders, Ve gasping, shaking.

"Do you know where Will is?!" he yelled at her.

"Stop it! You're scaring her!" Mike yelled as El pushed him off her, hugging her protectively as Ve had tears running down her cheeks.

"She should be scared!" Lucas yelled back.

Mike looked at Ve who seemed to look terrified under Lucas' yelling, whimpering noises escaping her mouth.

"If you know where he is, tell us!"

"Lucas, come on. Look at her, she's shaking. You're obviously scaring her." Dustin says, trying to get him to stop.

Lucas sighed, looking back at Mike.

"This is nuts! We have to take them to your mom."

"No! Eleven and Twelve said telling any adult would put us in danger." Mike says.

"What kind of danger?" Dustin asked.

"Their names are Eleven and Twelve?" Lucas asked.

"El and Ve for short," Mike says.

"Mike, what kind of danger?" Dustin asked again.

"Danger, danger!" Mike answered for him.

He formed a finger gun and pointed it at Dustin's head, who widened his eyes in fear and then at Lucas who hit his arm down.

"No, no, no! We're going back to plan A. We're telling your mom."

Ve widened her eyes, looking at El who squeezed her hand.

Lucas opened the door, only for it to slam closed.

Confused, he opened it again for it to slam closed again, this time, the lock turning.

Shocked, the three boys turned to see El and Ve, blood trickling down their noses.

"No."

Ve shook her head, tears still streaming down.

"You can't, p-please."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ve and El let the boys in the secret that Ve has more powers.

Ve had found a Spanish-English dictionary in Mike's room, noticing that it not only had the translations, but also the meanings of the words.

She was reading them, mumbling the words quietly, memorizing them.

She looked up when she heard the door open.

Her eyes widened when she saw El leave the room.

"¡Once!" She hissed, closing the dictionary, carrying it with her, grabbing her teddy bear that Dustin brought up for her from the basement.

She followed El out of Mike's room, hugging her teddy bear tightly against her chest, the dictionary floating next to her.

They walked downstairs, Ve's heartbeat suddenly slamming against her chest when she saw new people among the boys sitting around the table.

She swallowed as the woman - Mike's mom she recognized from the photo - was talking.

Mike looked up from his glass of milk and choked on it, seeing El and Ve.

Mike's mom was about to turn, Ve becoming frozen, her eyes widening in fear when Dustin bangs his fists on the table, catching her attention, Ve looking at him.

"Sorry. Spasm," he says, looking at Ve.

Ve sends a grateful smile before following her sister, hugging the teddy bear in her arms, Dustin's eyes widening at the dictionary - holy shit - that was floating behind her.

He smiled, a blush coating his cheeks.

X

She walked down the stairs to the basement to El, giving her a look.

"A-A-Are y-y-you c-c-crazy?!" She hissed.

Her vocabulary had expanded a bit since reading the dictionary, and learning a couple words from Dustin that he told her not to repeat in certain moments.

El rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at her.

"Bored."

Ve sighed, shaking her head.

"Careful, please?"

El frowned, realizing they could've been caught and be sent back to the lab, and she didn't want that happening.

ESPECIALLY to Ve, who, since escaping, had been decreasing her habit of scratching her arms.

"Careful. Promise."

Ve nodded and smiled at her.

They both went to the pillow fort, Ve setting her teddy bear on her lap and continued reading the dictionary, El grabbing Mike's Supercomm and started playing with it again.

X

"El? Ve?"

Ve looked up from the dictionary, seeing Mike with a tray, Dustin, and Lucas following behind him.

He sets the tray down.

"No adults. Just us and some meatloaf."

Ve smiled at him, however, El looked up to see Dustin and Lucas staring at them.

Ve noticed and looked up to see them, causing her smile to drop, looking down, tucking some of her hair behind her ear.

"Don't worry. They won't tell anyone about you." Mike says, smiling.

"They promise. Right?"

"We never would've upset you two if we knew you both had superpowers," Dustin says, causing Mike to hit him.

"Ow!"

"What Dustin is trying to say is that they were just scared...earlier. That's all." Mike says.

Ve frowned, but nodded.

"We just wanted to find our friend," Lucas said.

"Friend?" El asks, confused.

"Yeah, friend. Will?"

"What is 'friend'?"

"Is she serious?" Lucas asked, getting a shrug from Dustin.

"Uh, a friend-"

"Is someone you'd do anything for." Mike interrupts, looking at El.

"You lend them your cool stuff, like comic books and trading cards," Dustin adds.

"And they never break a promise." Mike continues.

"Especially when there's spit."

"Spit?" Ve asks.

"A spit swear means..."

Lucas spits into his hand and grabbed Dustin's hand, causing Ve to giggle at Dustin's horrified face.

"You never break your word. It's a bond."

"That's super important, because friends...they tell each other things. Things parents don't know." Mike says, looking at them.

El looked down before asking;

"Sister also 'friend'?"

Ve looked at El, her eyes widening before turning to Mike.

"Uh, yeah. In some cases, your friend can be your sibling...blood or not." Mike says, a bit surprised of the question, adding the last part, remembering that they weren't really related.

El and Ve grinned at each other, hugging each other.

Ve frowned, looking at the boys before whispering to El;

"T-Tell t-them?"

El pulled from the hug, looking at the boy and back at her, nodding.

Ve looked at the boys and said;

"I have...more...p-p-powers."

Dustin's eyes widened.

"Holy shit, like what?"

Ve looked at him and said;

"We...l-l-like to...call...t-t-them...Elem-m-mental Mani-ni-nipulation...Water M-Mimicry and...heat and freeze b-breath."

The boys' eyes widened, looking at each other.

Ve got up and went to Dustin, reaching for his hat.

He seemed to be in a trance as she removed it and put her hands on his forehead.

She furrowed her eyebrows as flowers appeared, moving her hands around his head, creating a flower crown.

She smiled as blood ran down her nose, wiping it.

"Pretty."

Dustin reached for his head, his eyes widening at the touch of a petal.

"Holy shit...did she-"

"Flower crown," El says, nodding.

Dustin grinned.

"That's amazing."

Ve blushed, but looked at all of them.

"Secret. No one knows."

"Not even the bad people?" Mike asked.

She shook her head.

"Your parents?"

She flinched at the mention of them.

"We...do not...know," El answered, causing them to look at her.

Ve nodded.

"No sé."

X

The boys were talking about something that the girls didn't really care to listen to and just walked up to the board where the boys played Dungeons and Dragons.

El sat where Mike usually sits when they were playing and Ve sat where Dustin usually sits, nodding at them.

"What's the weirdo and the bookworm doing?" Lucas asked, not getting an answer.

El closed her eyes, grabbing Ve's hand, who squeezed her hand, closing hers as well.

"El? Ve?" Mike asked, looking at the two.

El opened her eyes and took a figure.

"Will."

Ve nodded, her eyes still closed.

"Yes."

"Superpowers," Dustin says.

Lucas looked at Dustin and shook his head, rolling his eyes.

Mike sat on the chair to El's left, looking at her.

"Did you see him? On Mirkwood?" he asked, looking at her gently.

"Do you know where he is?"

El looked at Mike, then to Ve, and then to the board.

She knocked all the pieces except for Will's piece and another one.

She flipped the board over and placed Will's piece on it.

"I don't understand," Mike says.

"Hiding." Ve mumbled, causing Mike to look at her.

"Will is hiding?" Mike asked.

El and Ve nodded.

"From the bad men?" Mike asked, causing El to shake her head.

"Then from who?" Mike asked.

"Not who. Something." Ve whispered.

El got the other piece and placed it on the board.

Mike looked up at the boys with fear and shock in his eyes, Dustin had his hands on his head, sighing shakily.

"Monster." Ve whimpers, opening her eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ve gets comfortable using her powers in front of the boys and helps prove Dustin right about being able to make the Millennium Falcon fly.
> 
> Or
> 
> Dustin and Ve make 'Just in case' their equivalent to Mileven's 'Promise'.
> 
> Or
> 
> Ve and El get a flashback after seeing a certain 'Coke' ad on the TV.

Ve laid her head on El's lap, reading the dictionary, it floating above her as she was using her telekinesis.

She was mumbling the words, looking at the meanings of each one.

"Well, alrighty. So we've got..."

Ve looked up when she heard Dustin's voice, smiling slightly as he named each snack.

"Nutty Bars, Bazooka, Pez, Smarties, Pringles, Nilla Wafers, apple, banana, and trail mix."

"Seriously?" Lucas asked, Ve frowning at his disapproval.

"M-M-Mean." She mumbled, remembering the word.

El smiled at her, proud of her for speaking in English.

"We need energy for our travels. For stamina."

Ve furrowed her eyebrows, flipping the pages to find the word 'stamina'.

"Besides, why do we even need weapons anyways? We have them."

Dustin pointed at the two sisters, making Ve blush.

"They shut one door!" Lucas argued.

"With their minds! For crying out loud, Ve is making that dictionary float right now! And not to mention, she made me a flower crown last night! She's basically Poison Ivy!" Dustin exclaims, Ve giggling.

"Float." Ve smiled.

"See?! Are you kidding me? That's insane! Imagine all the other cool stuff they could do."

He looked up thinking of something.

"Like..."

He grabbed the Millennium Falcon, bringing it over.

"I bet...they could make this fly!"

He turns to El, her looking up at Dustin carefully.

"Hey. Hey. Okay, concentrate. Okay?"

He drops it, making it fall.

"Ok, one more time."

Ve giggles as Eleven gave a disinterested look, clearly not giving a shit about using her powers for Dustin's entertainment.

"Okay." 

Ve watches Dustin with a huge grin on her face, while Lucas sighed, shaking his head.

"Use your powers, okay?"

El just looks at Dustin with a blank face as he drops it again.

"Idiot."

Mike took it from Dustin.

"She's not a dog! Neither of them are!"

Ve smiled at Dustin, holding her hands out to Mike.

He furrowed his eyebrows as he handed it to her.

She looks at it, and it floats from her hands, Dustin laughing and pointing at Lucas.

"See?!" he laughs.

He freezes when a sweet, happy sound of laughter was heard, turning to see Ve laughing as she made the Falcon fly around Mike and Lucas.

He blushed when she turned to him and smiled, revealing her teeth.

"Hyperspeed!"

She makes it fly fast towards him, causing him to barely catch it.

But he laughs, grinning at her.

"You remembered!"

Before the boys went to bed last night, Dustin had told the girls all about Star Wars, explaining the storyline and everything.

El didn't really pay close attention, unlike Ve, who had the perfect reactions to everything he talked about.

She giggled, before taking his hat and plopping a new flower crown on his head.

El rolled her eyes as his face lit up.

"You know what, why don't you keep my hat safe for me today. You know, just in case?"

Ve furrowed her eyebrows.

"Just in case?"

"Yeah, it means to take a precaution, like, in case if I lose it in school or something. Just in case."

Ve nodded.

"Just in case."

"Boys! Time for school!"

Dustin and Lucas grabbed their stuff, Dustin sending a grin at Ve.

"Bye, Ve!"

She waved at him, grinning as Mike walked towards the two.

"Just stay down here. Don't make any noise, and don't leave." Mike tells them, Ve nodding.

"If you get hungry, eat Dustin's snacks, okay?" He adds, El looking at the two of them.

"Michael!"

"COMING!" he yelled, irritated that he got interrupted.

"You know those power lines?" Mike asked, his voice soft again.

"Power lines?" Ve asked.

"Yeah. The ones behind the house?" he asks her, causing her to nod.

"Yes."

"Meet us there, after school."

"After school?" El asked.

"Yeah, 3:15," Mike says, smiling at her.

El and Ve looked at each other, confused.

"Ah," Mike says, taking off his watch, and placing it on El's wrist, Ve watching.

"When the number read three-one-five, meet us there," Mike tells her.

"Three-one-five," El says, looking at the watch.

"Three-one-five/tres-uno-cinco." Mike repeats, being caught off guard when Ve translates it into Spanish, both looking at each other before they started to giggle, which led to laughter.

El watches them and smiles, her eyes landing on the freckled boy.

Ve noticed and her eyebrows furrowed, noticing the look in her sister's eyes.

When Mike left, she turned to El.

"You l-l-like Mike!"

El turned to her, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yes?"

Ve sighed, trying to elaborate.

"You look at h-h-him...like...Mamá y Papá-"

El narrowed her eyes, daring her to finish that sentence.

"...u-u-used to...when still nice."

El's look softened, but looked up.

"Like a friend?"

Ve shook her head.

"Like a...really trusted friend," she says, shrugging, putting on Dustin's hat on her head.

El nodded, smiling at her.

"Pretty!"

Ve blushes and giggles.

X

El and Ve were looking at the Millennium Falcon, making it fly out of boredom, already eaten all of Dustin's snacks.

Ve had her head laid on El's shoulder, El who now wore a flower crown of her own.

It made her feel pretty.

El looked away, making it clatter onto the floor, Ve flinching as it suddenly dropped.

She took Mike's Supercomm and turned the channel, then putting it down, already bored of that.

Ve was making water appear through her fingers, when she saw El walk up the stairs.

She sighed, rolling her eyes before making the water vanish, grabbing her teddy bear and following her from behind.

She grabbed onto El's hand, both looking around the empty house.

X

El had pulled up the La-Z-Boy, the magic of it already gone.

Ve was sitting on the floor next to it, watching as El took the phone (Dictionary) and placed it over her ear, mimicking the dial tone.

X

El and Ve walked up to the TV, El turning it on.

_"...was occupying a large part of Lebanon. Today, Syria has become a home for-"_

**_Changes Channel_ **

_"I have the power!"_

**_Changes Channel_ **

_"...gift that will last forever. From the Harmony Treasures' collection."_

**_Changes Channel_ **

There was some sort of music.

**_Changes Channel_ **

Ve froze at the familiar object on the TV, grabbing El's hand.

El looked at her, squeezing her hand, her eyes on her neck.

The redness had vanished since it was a long time ago, but...the memory still burned in their minds.

**_Flashback..._ **

_Eleven was sitting on a table, looking at the window reflection, where Papa was._

_Her fists clenched as her eyes darted to where Twelve was, her Mamá pulling down at her hair, roughly grabbing her neck._

_Twelve whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at Eleven, whose eyes burned with anger and determination, waiting impatiently for the queue to start._

_Papa nodded, handing someone something._

_Eleven looked at Twelve, her fists clenching tighter before glaring down at the red and white can that she will learn later from Twelve that it read, "Coke"._

_She furrowed her eyebrows, focusing all her energy on trying to crush the can so Twelve's Mama will stop hurting her sister._

_Suddenly, the can become crushed, causing her to look directly at Twelve's Mama, who rolled her eyes and let Twelve go, men escorting her to the room, where Eleven took off the thing off her head and ran to hug Twelve, sighing out in relief while Twelve cried._

_Twelve let go of Eleven, her eyebrows furrowing as she wiped the blood from her nose, causing El to touch it as well, gasping at it._

_El looked to see Papa, who thankfully seemed pleased with the results._

_El sighed, before looking back to Twelve, her eyes widening at the redness at her throat._

_She glared at the woman, who just smirked at her._

_Twelve noticed and grabbed Eleven's shoulders, shaking her head._

_Eleven sighed and smiled, hugging her again._

**_End Of Flashback..._ **

El turned off the TV, not wanting to remember the bad memories.

Especially since Ve was shaking at the reminder of what her Mama did.

Ve rubbed her neck, swallowing before she hugged El, sighing as she tried to feel secure and safe again.

She just had to remember...

Mamá and Papá don't know where she is.


End file.
